Press Releases

UBER JOINS INDEPENDENCE CUP 2017, AS OFFICIAL TRANSPORT PARTNER

Uber, the international smartphone app that seamlessly connects riders to drivers, is proud to become the Official Transport Partner of the upcoming Independence Cup 2017. The ultimate face-off between Pakistani daredevils and star-studded World XI cricket teams is slated to take place at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on 12th, 13th and 15th September 2017.

With the cricket fever returning to the home ground, Uber is all set to provide the citizens of Lahore a hassle-free way to reach the venue. To further show its support to the national cricket team, Uber will be providing cricket fanatics a flat rate of 111 PKR on their rides ending at the stadium. The rate is only subject to drop offs and will remain uniform throughout the three-day extravaganza. Uber has also designated pickup and drop-off zones to ensure convenience to its riders.

Safee Shah, GM Uber Pakistan, said:

“We are extremely excited to support the Champions Trophy winning Pakistani cricket team take on the best of the world at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. The love for cricket in Pakistan is unprecedented and we truly believe that the star-studded World XI coming to Pakistan will open doors to other international teams also reviving the culture of international series in Pakistan. At Uber Pakistan, we believe in making the experience as seamless as possible and want to help fans to see their favorite stars live in action. We are proud to join hands with Pakistan Cricket Board to become the Official Transport Partner of the Independence Cup 2017.”

Uber will also offer a chance to its riders and drivers to be the “Fan of the Match” and win a signed ball from the “Man of the Match”. To win, all riders need to do is take the most trips this weekend using the promo code UBERCRICKETPK. There will be three lucky winners, one rider, and two driver-partners at each match, who will be invited to the stage for the Presentation Ceremony. New and current drivers will also have the chance to win one of 150 tickets to watch the live match.

Uber helps millions of Pakistanis every day to move around their city, offering access to affordable, reliable and most importantly safe rides in over 400 cities worldwide at the simple push of a button.

SILKBANK HOLDS MEET THE PRESS EVENT

Silkbank organized a Meet The Press Event at a local hotel in Karachi, the reason for holding this event was to announce the half yearly brilliant results the bank had gathered for this year 2017, Mr Shuja Alvi Head of Investment Banking gave a brief overview on the banks wonderful performance and highlighting and showcasing Silkbank growth in the time to come.

Also at the Q & Session Mr Shaukat Tarin (Advisor to the Chairman) spoke about the laurels Silkbank had achieved in a very short stint of time. Mr Shaukat also spoke about the changing banking trends in Pakistan and how Silkbank is performing its role in providing cutting edge solutions for all its customers.

Mr Tarin also emphasized the importance of digital banking and how Silkbank is committed to provide more easy way solution or all its customers, Mr Tarin also mentioned Silkbank’s business momentum will get further augmented by the addition of 35 new branches this year. The new branches are expected to contribute significantly to further growth in low cost deposits.

The Bank’s newest initiative is the launch of the Digital Banking. Digital Silk has already been soft launched for the employees and is expected to be a game changer. Like credit cards the offering is not dependent on a branch distribution network. Digital Banking has the ability to reach a much wider market segment, generating low cost deposits and enable the bank to leap frog growth.

PSO QUALITY ASSURANCE LABORATORIES RECEIVE INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION

Pakistan’s largest oil marketing company, Pakistan State Oil Company Limited (PSX: PSO), has achieved another benchmark on quality assurance front. Two laboratories of the company have successfully met international proficiency tests criteria of the Inter-Laboratory Correlation Program (ILCP), a multi-faceted laboratory structure program based in London, the United Kingdom. This program evaluates adherence and compliance to international quality requirements and standards in the area of testing of petroleum products.

109 laboratories from all over the world participated in this program. Their samples were tested and compared for reliability and correctness. Lubricants Manufacturing Terminal (LMT) and Keamari Terminal-A (KTA) laboratories of the PSO participated in the program and qualified against all the rigorous tests conducted by the ILCP.

Speaking about this achievement, the Managing Director and CEO of Pakistan State Oil, Sheikh Imran-ul-Haque, said:

“Result of such high commitment to quality reflects in our customer’s confidence and in growth of our businesses. The company has recently reported 76.7% more profit-after-tax, amounting to Rs 18.2 billion in FY2017 compared to Rs 10.3 billion in FY2016. Comparing performance of FY2017 with FY2015, PSO has shown a remarkable growth of 163.8% over the last two years when it earned Rs 6.9 billion in profit-after-tax.”

“PSO has ambitiously restructured its supply portfolio to higher specifications with objective to keep it at par with international quality standards. The Inter Laboratory Correlation Program (ILCP) qualification is indeed a testament to our robust quality assurance system.”

“As nation’s flagship brand in energy sector, we are committed to providing high quality products across our all business lines to our customers in Pakistan.”

PSO quality assurance is a comprehensive end-to-end system built on a network of state of the art laboratories at every junction of the company’s supply chain. All laboratories in this system are ISO 9001 certified and follow national and international standards set by the Pakistan Standard Quality Control Authority (PSQCA), the American Society for Testing & Materials (ASTM) and the Institute of Petroleum (IP) – UK. Moreover, a fleet of 25 ’mobile quality testing units’ adds further value in the quality assurance system and conducts approximately 15000 inspections with more than 25000 on-the-spot quality and quantity tests of fuels per annum. These measures continue to enable PSO to assure its commitment of providing best quality products to its customers in Pakistan.

The President and CEO of National Bank Pakistan (NBP) Mr. Saeed Ahmad visited the Gwadar region to assess prospects for NBP to play an active role for participation in business opportunities and to strategically focus on business development activities in the light of China Pakistan Economic Corridor. He met leading businessmen and addressed the members of the Chamber of Commerce, Gwadar. The CEO said that Gwadar is emerging to play an important role in the economic future of the country and holds a vital position in the region.

He also had a Town Hall meeting in which all the branch managers in the region and other senior local executives took part. This was the first ever visit of any President of NBP to this region, which was warmly welcomed by business community and staff. The President and CEO NBP emphasized that the NBP employees in the Gwadar region must work on the eradication of hurdles in the way of the provision of loans to fishermen, agriculture and others. He also added that the exports of the country can be increased hence increasing foreign reserves if fishing facilities are upgraded and financing is provided to the fishing community, date farms and other sectors.

NBP has special emphasis on the Prime Minister Youth Business Loan Scheme in Gwadar. This will enable the under privileged and the unemployed youth of Gwadar to benefit in up scaling their economic standings. NBP intends to play a significant role in the development of this locality. The President said that the competent and deserving candidates residing in Gwadar will be offered preference for employment opportunities with National Bank of Pakistan to serve in the region.

“The problems of the employees will be catered to and all the decisions will be made on the basis of competence and performance. It is our mission to promote Prime Minister Youth Business Loan Scheme and Islamic banking in Gwadar. We are making all the efforts to assist all branches of National Bank in playing an active role in the achievement of this goal,” Mr. Saeed Ahmad, President and CEO, NBP said to the employees at Town Hall meeting.

Mr. Saeed Ahmad, the President and CEO, urged the Gwadar Chamber of Commerce senior executives to make and submit some proper feasibility studies for receiving financing via NBP, National Bank of Pakistan is keen to play its due role in assisting Gwadar to achieve its maximum economic potential.

“I wish to see Gwadar progress. The development authorities with the security cover provided by the law enforcement agencies and armed forces of Pakistan are working day and night to help augment the development of the city. Gwadar can play a significant role in increasing the economic prosperity of the country and we wish to play a prominent role in the development of CPEC,” he added in the meeting with Chamber Of Commerce.

The President of the Chamber of Commerce of Gwadar Faisal Jamal Dashti and other officials including Major Rtd. Azizullah attended the event and appreciated the efforts made by NBP. They provided suggestions to solve the problems faced by the people. In this regard, Mr. Saeed Ahmad, the President and CEO NBP said that the development of Gwadar is among his top priorities. He said that the suggestions provided by the chamber of commerce will be considered at a strategic level and will be made a part of the NBP’s vision for Gwadar.

The Group Chiefs of NBP Zahid Mehmood Chaudhry, Aasim Akhter, Mohsin Furqan and the Regional Head of Gwadar Muhammad Sultan Jaffer were also present at the occasion.

ADB AWARDS NBP ‘BANK TRADE DEAL OF THE YEAR’

National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) has won the “Bank Trade Deal of the Year” award at the Trade Finance Program (TFP) Awards announced by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The award ceremony was organized by ADB at a dinner held in Singapore recently where it announced the winners of its third annual TFP Awards. More than 150 guests from banks and other financial institutions around the world attended the event.

Mr. Saeed Ahmad, President and CEO, NBP said, “It is a great honour for NBP to be recognized by an international premier development institution, the Asian Development Bank. The award shows NBP’s commitment to delivering a high standard of service, both at national and international levels to its clients. This award is yet another demonstration of NBP’s role as a catalyst for economic growth, serving the diverse needs of the country through its large branch network, universal banking capabilities and multiple delivery channels.”

The TFP Awards recognized 18 leading partner banks from 17 countries. TFP provides guarantees and loans to over 200 partner banks to support trade. Backed by ADB’s AAA credit rating, the program works with over 200 partner banks, including NBP, to provide companies with the financial support they need to engage in import and export activities.

NBP has proven to be an internationally acclaimed and awarded institution. Apart from domestic awards, the Bank has earned a number of international awards and accolades from leading publications, including “The Banker” magazine, which termed NBP as the top bank of Pakistan in its Top 1000 World Bank’s ranking in recent past. The bank also received “Retail Banking Award” in the recent past and “Domestic Retail Bank of the Year Pakistan” from “Asian Banking & Finance” magazine for the year 2017. Global Finance magazine selected NBP as “The Best Emerging Markets Bank” and “Best Foreign Exchange Bank in Pakistan”. FTSE4Good Index Series has also listed National Bank of Pakistan in June 2017 in its index due to NBP’s strong contribution towards environmental and social governance in Pakistan.

METRO CASH N CARRY, PSDF OPEN INDUSTRIAL TRAINING

Metro Cash N Carry has partnered with Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) for their Industrial Training Program 2017, based on technical training and developing 100 students over a period of 12 months in the fields of bakery and meat processing.

These students will go through robust class room trainings and on the floor practical demonstrations to develop their technical expertise and prepare themselves for professional roles in the retail industry of Pakistan.

Furthermore Mr. Marek Minkiewicz, Managing Director, Metro Cash N Carry said we will be providing permanent jobs to the top fifty students post their completion of training.

JS BANK AND BLUE EAST TO FORM AN IOT BANKING ALLIANCE IN PAKISTAN

JS Bank Limited & BlueEast Pvt Ltd have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for pioneering Pakistan’s first ever IoT banking alliance. Under this agreement, both parties will collaborate to promote a “Digital Pakistan”. The agreement aims to provide IOT integration with smart payment gateways to deliver customer centric banking & ecommerce solutions.

BlueEast and JS Bank intend to bring innovation to Pakistani consumers. Users will be able to relish the perks of IoT and banking at the leisure of their homes and both partners aim to enable smart purchases and automated homes. Additionally, BlueEast will facilitate JS Bank in terms of its professional expertise along with granting access to its exclusive IOT solutions.

Furthermore, JS Bank was also shown BlueEast’s labs and technical workspace. The MoU assures greater collaboration between the two parties and upholds proposed initiatives to strengthen the link between the banking industry and the IoT/ E-commerce sector.

Commenting on the occasion, Chief Digital Officer JS Bank, Mr. Khurram Shaikh said, “The IoT has the potential to impact everything from new product opportunities, to smart homes, cities and governments optimization. We believe this partnership will pave the way for bringing smart home solutions for mutual consumers of BlueEast and JS Bank into reality”

Commenting on the alliance, CEO BlueEast, Mr. Mian Abdul Rehman Talat said, “The MoU will see both BlueEast and JS Bank pool resources to address digital technology shifts and accelerate IoT adoption at a national level across the industry”.

JS Bank is considered amongst the fastest growing banks within Pakistan’s banking landscape with 307 branches in 152 cities and one international branch. JS Bank is part of JS Group, one of Pakistan’s most diversified and progressive financial services groups. For more information, visit http://www.jsbl.com

IBA KARACHI HOLDS SAFE CHARITY AWARENESS CAMPAIGN’S

IBA Karachi hosted the closing ceremony of ’Safe charity’ in collaboration with Bargad organisation of youth development. The purpose of this event was to discuss the outcomes of safe charity project, which was initiated to design a safe charity campaign and increase awareness about the fundraising practices in our country. It was a six months project, which aimed at edifying people about how charity should be used and who should it be given to for attaining the maximum benefit for the society.

The social mobilizers were given training for the campaign and they conducted 30 social action plans, which reached to around 2000 community members. These included flyer distribution, signature campaigns, mobile exhibitions through float, information desks, practical demonstrations, walks & rallies, press conference, street theatre and seminar.

The program started with the registration of participants and the recitation of the Holy Quran. Dr. Huma Baqai (Associate Professor, IBA) opened the program by highlighting that, ’Charity can be dangerous if it falls in wrong hands’. She emphasized that this session was held in Karachi as Karachi is the biggest contributor of charity and donations out of all the cities in Pakistan. She also stressed upon how important it was to build more schools rather than building more mosques as education to the masses in this day and age of troubled times is excruciatingly important as education helps eradicate terrorism.

Students from Suffa University, IOBM, Habib University, NED and Karachi University participates wholeheartedly in this session.

In a discussion, peace workers and a social mobiliser from Bargad shared their experience of working in the field and trying to educate the shop owners about ensuring that their money/charity reaches the right people, who work for the betterment of the society and not radicalization of the youth.

Ms. Sabiha Shaheen, Executive Director Bargad informed the audience that media responded very favourably to this cause and helped extend the message of practicing safe charity. Overall, she deemed this initiative to be a successful one.

Then a panel discussion between panelists: Mr. Mubashar Zaidi, Dawn TV; Mr. Ateeq-ur-Rehman, Member Chamber of Commerce; Professor Dr. Amir Feroz Shamsi, Dr. Najam Anjum Assistant Professor IBA and Ms. Sabiha Shaheen ensued. Dr. Najam talked about reviving the spirit of mosques, as once they were community centres that were not only for praying but served as religious and cultural hubs, imparting both worldly and religious knowledge. Mr. Mubashar Zaidi emphasized on the importance of practicing safe charity, he commended the spirit of the nation as Pakistan is amongst the top countries in the world to donate the most but consciousness of charity given to the right causes is also very important. While, Mr. Ateeq-ur-Rehman said that seeing as it was Jinnah’s death anniversary; let’s all resolve to do our bit for the country. He urged the young participants to adopt a child, support their educational expenses, donate to health & education sectors, open garage schools etc.

The event culminated with a message that the youth of today have immense influence when it comes to their parents, they are all more aware and educated than ever before. Thus they should play their role and aware not only their own families but their social circles to start practicing the habit of safe charity and donate to the organizations that are registered and are supporting worthy causes around Pakistan.

AN INTERACTIVE SESSION ON LAW & ORDER BY DG RANGERS AT IBA KARACHI

On a vibrant Friday morning, IBA Karachi hosted an interactive lecture series with the DG Rangers on law and order situation on Friday. The Rangers representative started with sharing a brief introduction of the role and efforts of Rangers in the country. He explained that Karachi was the 6th most violent city in 2013 and the Supreme Court took a Suo motu notice to start an operation with Rangers playing the lead role. He highlighted the cases that Rangers deal with, which includes terrorism, target killing, extortion, kidnapping for ransom and assisting police in other crimes. They also conduct security rehearsals for universities, perform duties for foreign officials and make special arrangements for national and religious events. Their main aim is to create a secure environment free from political extremism, militant wings etc. and their endeavours have resulted in 72% decrease in terrorism in Karachi.

After the recitation of the holy Quran, Dr. Huma Baqai (Associate professor, IBA) moderated the event and introduced Hon. Major General Mohammad Saeed (Director General Pakistan Rangers, Sindh) and Dr. Farrukh Iqbal (Director, IBA). DG Saeed compassionately addressed the students about the significance of Karachi and how they can be responsible citizens. He mentioned that Karachi has undergone many transitions since its inception. The population has increased from 5.5 lakhs to 17 million in last 70 years, which is a drastic change that no other city has seen. Before the partition, it was inhabited by 56% of non-Muslims belonging to peaceful communities, who left the region after partition and only 4% of them remained. During this huge demographic shift, there was a high influx of people from other parts of subcontinent who were not familiar with the Karachi culture. The wide variety of ethnicities could not come together, resulting in ethnic and sectarian fault lines.

He discussed an incidence of a recent target killing by highly educated individuals and explained that abject poverty and a wrong interpretation of religion are the main reasons for it. It’s healthy to have a debate between liberal and religious groups but sometimes the difference of opinion becomes violent leading to the creation of a polarised society that we’re currently struggling with. He made the audience realise that it is not just the strong law and order that we need but a strong social contract between the citizens and state. The reason why people abroad have a strong civic sense is because early from their childhood they are told to behave in a certain way. Even in our society, the elementary schools, institutions and parents can bring a change with mentoring their kids about being responsible citizens. He ended his note by saying that we need to develop more tolerance and vigilance to create a respectable society.

There were many pertinent questions asked by the students towards the end and DG Saeed gave quite detailed answers. Dr. Farrukh thanked and appreciated him for taking out his valuable time for the students of IBA. He said that the long-term solution to the problem of diverse societies lie in education and IBA Karachi will always play its due part in it. Tokens of appreciation were exchanged between the Dean and DG Saeed towards the end of the program.

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